Diakopto

Services on the Odontotos cog railway, connecting Diakopto and Kalavryta in the Peloponnese, have been temporarily suspended due to landslides along the track, operator Hellenic Train announced on Friday.

In the meantime, the connection has been replaced by a bus service.

An operation was launched on Monday to rescue approximately 90 passengers who were stranded on a train along the Diakopto-Kalavryta rack railway (known in Greek as the "Odontotos"), situated in the Peloponnese region. The train had come to a halt due to landslides near the Niamata area.

The police on Thursday closed the Athens-bound lanes of the new Athens-Patras national highway to traffic at the 161st kilometre, in the Elaionas region, due to problems caused by the heavy rain in the area.

The old Athens-Patras national road has also been closed in both directions in the same area, while traffic has been diverted due to the bad weather at Metohi, Achaia.

The service of "Odontotos", the iconic rack railway train of Kalavryta in the northern Peloponnese, will return to service again on Saturday, after a pause during regional fires, operator Hellenic Train said on Friday.

The regional authorities of Achaia, western Greece, were urging drivers on Thursday to use snow chains if travelling near the area of Kalavryta, as a cold front brought freezing temperatures around the country.

State-run news agency ANA-MPA reported that snow chains were required when travelling from Kalavryta to Diakopto, Patras and Halandritsa.

US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt was on a private visit to the town of Kalavryta, western Greece, Sunday.

The appeal of seven defendants convicted over the suspected murder in 2012 of a 26-year-old university student in Athens began in the Greek capital on Monday, with the president of the chamber urging the defendants to come clean about the events that led to the disappearance of Marios Papageorgiou.

Panic earlier outside the Athens Court of Appeals after a new interruption in the case trial of Marios Papageorgiou.

A relative of the victim’s family while making statements in front of the camera saying they can not find the child’s corpse, pulled a gun and shot three times in the air. Police men followed him, threw him to the ground and handcuffed him along with one more relative.

Visitors to the Diakofto-Kalavryta rack railway have a unique chance to experience a slice of living history while enjoying the lush beauty of the region thanks to the operation of the original DK 8001 steam locomotive – known as ‘Moutzouris’.

Greek train operator Trainose has announced that a new travel pass is available for visitors to the area of Kalavryta in the Peloponnese.